Jessica Warden
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne proved once again that its faculty is made up of an exceptional group of professors – many of whom are talented authors as well – at the Celebration of Books event on Wednesday.
The afternoon event, held in Wilson Library, allowed visitors to have their books signed by the authors and gave professors the opportunity to further promote their books.
The books presented were published in 2004-2005 and covered a wide variety of genres and topics ranging from music culture to family communication and law related periodical articles to neoclassic Shakespeare.
“I’m not surprised but impressed and interested to see what some of them have come out with,” said Sara Lesniak, a senior creative writing major with a minor in business administration. “I am more surprised at how many of them came out with more fictional genres as opposed to essays or nonfiction and research studies.”
Before a crowd of 50, the ten ULV authors, one at a time, read from their works and discussed them. A few authors revealed to the audience personal stories and life experiences that in some cases was the driving force for writing their books. Dr. Ken Scambray, professor of English and author of “Surface Roots,” a collection of short stories, humorously explained how the content in the book is based on stories that have been in his family for generations.
Other books introduced at the event included: “The Discovery of Materialist Conception of History in the Writings of the Young Karl Marx” by Ernie Thomson, associate professor of sociology; and “The Dissertation Journey – A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Writing and Defending Your Dissertation” by Carol Roberts. Several of these works are available at the ULV bookstore and Amazon.com.
Over one hundred ULV faculty members are writing and many are currently in the process of publishing. The next Celebration of Books is planned for next fall and will preview an entirely new selection of books.
“Research is one of the most important things any university can do because that’s what faculty is all about,” said Al Clark, associated vice president of academic affairs.
Clark, who has been at ULV for 27 years, explains that in his first 15 years at the university only one faculty member had published a book, and in just the last year there has been at least 15.
“This not only demonstrates that our faculty are keeping current in their fields but their pushing the boundaries and pushing ahead to not only enlighten themselves but enlighten their students,” Clark said.
Jessica Warden can be reach at jesselw@verizon.net.
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.